Wisconsin Bill Would Treat Organic Milk, Sharp Cheddar, Brown Eggs as "Junk Food"

Wisconsin ranks 44th in the nation for new job creation. Rather than rolling up their sleeves and finding new and innovative ways to help create jobs, the Wisconsin legislature is spending its time telling people needing food assistance what they should be eating. AB 110, which will be up for a vote in the Assembly on Tuesday, May 7, is geared toward limiting "the amount of food stamp benefits that could be spent on junk food." But some of the fine print of the bill, bizarrely, would ban people from choosing more healthy and less expensive options for their families. The bill is one of many being considered that are unduly punitive of the poor.

Restricting Access to Organic and Other Whole Foods

WIC EggsAs of March 2013, 858,000 Wisconsinites receive FoodShare benefits. The bill, AB 110, would limit FoodShare, Wisconsin's food stamp program funded through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). As the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) has reported, Governor Scott Walker has already proposed to require all "able-bodied adults" who receive food stamps (and don't have dependent children) to train or search for work in order to continue receiving those benefits. This even though Walker has failed to create the 250,000 jobs he promised when running for office in 2010.

Now Representative Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah) is sponsoring another bill to further limit FoodShare. Kaufert told the Wisconsin Radio Network that the bill would make it so that a benefit recipient "can't buy six bags of nachos and four cases of soda."

Specifically, the amended program would allow only a third of an individual's FoodShare benefits to be spent on a full range of food as they currently can be. The remaining two-thirds would be subject to the same restrictions as the federal Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutritional program, with some small modifications. (Both programs, of course, bar restaurant food, cigarettes, alcohol, and pet foods.)

WIC MilkWIC is a federal program intended to supplement food stamp benefits for a particularly vulnerable population of women and young children. As such, it has strict -- and at times very odd -- guidelines to focus these supplemental food dollars on nutritionally dense staple foods.

Wisconsin's AB 110 would mandate that two-thirds of a person's FoodShare benefits could be spent only on foods on the WIC-approved list. Exemptions have been added so recipients can also purchase fish, beef, pork, chicken, and potatoes. Strangely, exemptions were not added so that the "healthy" two-thirds could also be spent on a full range of healthy Wisconsin farm products and fresh food.

The result is that the bulk of your FoodShare dollars can be spent on milk, but not organic milk; on eggs, but only on white eggs by the dozen, not on brown, free-range, or organic eggs; on 100 percent whole wheat bread, but not on gluten-free bread for those with Celiac disease; on slices of American cheese, but not sharp cheddar. FoodShare dollars can be spent on dry beans, but not if they come from a money-saving bulk bin at your local food coop. You can get juice boxes for your children, but only Juicy Juice brand juice boxes.

In order for the state Department of Health Services to implement changes to FoodShare purchasing guidelines, it would need to attain a federal waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). But when Minnesota tried to prohibit purchase of candy or soda in 2004, and New York City tried to ban purchase of certain sugary drinks in 2010, both waiver requests were denied. The USDA points out the lack of clear standards to define foods as healthy or unhealthy.

As Bill Approaches Vote, Public Input Needed

According to the Associated Press, the Assembly committee heard input from food companies, grocery stores, and food banks. They told Wisconsin lawmakers that restrictions "would shame recipients and burden businesses with enforcement." Democrats on the committee -- who voted against the measure -- said it "would stigmatize poor people who already have limited options in buying food."

In addition to Rep. Kaufert, AB 110's supporters include Representatives John Nygren (R-Marinette), Kathy Bernier (R-Chippewa Falls), Ed Brooks (R-Reedsburg), Jeff Stone (R-Greendale), Paul Tittl (R-Manitowoc), Garey Bies (R-Sister Bay), Samantha Kerkman (R-Powers Lake), Scott Krug (R-Wisconsin Rapids), Pat Strachota (R-West Bend), Daniel LeMahieu (R-Cascade), Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green), Mike Kuglitsch (R-New Berlin), Michael Schraa (R-Oshkosh), Alvin Ott (R-Forest Junction), Mike Endsley (R-Sheboygan), Jeffrey Mursau (R-Crivitz), and Travis Tranel (R-Cuba City). In the Senate, the bill's supporters include Senators Robert Cowles (R-Shawano), Joe Leibham (R-Sheboygan), Frank Lasee (R-Casco), and Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend).

As Wisconsin Assemblymembers gather to vote on this bill May 7, these elected officials should expect to hear from those whose lives and food choices would be directly affected by the bill.


NOTE: AB 110 passed the Wisconsin State Assembly on May 7, 2013.

Comments

you are an idiot because you indicated this bill would keep people from getting beer and cigarettes with their food stamps which is something they already can not do.

I live in Milwaukee so i have a pretty goo idea of what goes on here. Perhaps you should research things before spouting off

Milwaukee and know for a fact there are shops on the north side of town that will accept food stamps/foodshare towards the purchase of alcohol. Not hard to figure out what they buy in a liquor store when they come out with a brown paper bag lol

I live there too - report them If you know that those stores are committing fraud, REPORT THEM! Report the people who are misusing foodshare. Fraud costs all of us money, so rooting it out leaves more money for those of us who need it. Send the criminals to prison & they'll never be able to get foodshare again. For the VAST majority of items, it is not legal to buy anything other than food with foodshare. (There are exceptions, but they are very rare and do NOT include drugs, of which nicotine & alcohol are the most commonly used.)

I don't know where you people shop, but a lot all-natural and organic items really aren't all that much more expensive than the non-organic stuff nowadays, dues to the rise in popularity and availability of organic choices. And shell color of an egg has no difference in nutritional value of the egg. It's based on the breed of chicken that laid it. I think a dozen brown eggs at my locally owned grocery is about thirty cents more than a dozen white shelled eggs. And the price jump comes just because brown shell layer breeds typically don't lay as prolifically as a white shell Leghorn-type breed. Is that really that big of a deal that it needs to be exempted?

beer is actually already on the list of things you cant buy with foodstamps.. anyone who claims to being buying beer with them is a liar.

I have a severe dairy allergy, making it impossible to consume any milk product. So I use my FoodShare to get soy or almond milk. How exactly does that make me a bad person who is somehow abusing the system? I drink alternative "milks" because I have to, not because I want to. I'm not being fancy. I'm just having a damn bowl of cereal. Besides, it's not as though people on FoodShare who buy these "fancy" or "junk" items are allotted extra credits for them. The "milk" I buy is more expensive than cow milk, so I have to budget my FoodShare accordingly, generally sacrificing any non-essentials and relying more on bulk/frozen/canned goods rather than fresh. Again, what's the problem? I'm trying to stay healthy by eating things that don't make me sick (and, thus, unable to be a productive member of society). I have several friends with similar problems-- celiac disease, medically-required reduced consumption of animal fats, and so on. Go ahead and prevent FoodShare recipients from buying junk food-- nobody should be eating that crap, let alone on the State's dollar-- but restricting eggs to "white only?" Give me a break. If people want to eat fewer foods because they purchase more expensive items, let them. It all comes out even in the end.

If you have a medically proven reason you can't eat something ok that is one thing however if you just prefer this to that then that's an issue. There is no reason that you, or anyone not just picking on you, should be eating say soy milk,organic eggs etc. while the people paying taxes into that system cannot afford to it that. There comes a point when you have to think that those living off the tax payers are living better then the taxpayers and that's where we are today. Things need to be cut back from food choices to funding, you know i know someone who gets $200 a month for groceries and that's just for him lol i spend less then half of that.

Annonomous, if you know someone getting $200 a month in food stamps just for himself it's because he has no income or if he has income it is going out on medication expenses which is deducted from his gross income. Don't judge something you know little about.

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